Ship-armor.



Patented June 25, 1918.

2 SHEETS-SHEET l.

SHIP ARMOR.

M. FELVLAND.

APPLICATION FILED MAY 7. |917.

u ww m w O O Y n O O dg o o INN O O QN O O QN QN x M. l. FELLAND.

`SHIP ARMOR.

APPLlcATIoN mio -MAY 1. 1911.

Patented June 25, 19m

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2 woemloz wml i cade and State of Montana,v

ifipipyCE i `MEIIII'VIN JOSEPH FELLAND, 0F GREATFALLS, MONTANA,

SHIP-ARMOR.

specification of Letters Patent. Patented June 25'; 1918` Application filed May 7, 191'7. Serial No. 166,906.

To all whom t may concern Be it known that I, MELUN JosnPI-I FEL- LAND, a citizen of the UnitedStates,`and resident ofl` Great Falls, in the `countyiof Cashave invented certain new and useful Improvements in Ship-Armor, of which the followingV is a specification.

yThis invention relates to ships'and has more particular reference to an improved detachable armor therefor.

The invention has for its dominant object to provide detachable armor for protecting vessels While under Way or idle from torpedoes discharged' thereat by an enemy; the armor being so constructed and arranged with relation to the ship hull as to eifectually engage and cause the discharge ofthe torl pedo at a point distant from the ship hull sides and further to permit the propelling and steering apparatus of the ship to be efficiently operated.

i Another objectl of the invention is to provide the armor withbuoyant meansfor floating the same and releasing the ship of the weight thereof at all times.

v It is also an object of the invention to provide an armor of the character mentioned which can` be readily and easily detached from the ship" and permitted to float on the surface of a body of Water when the ship moves into a port for loading or unloading a cargo.

lOther `objects `will be in part obvious and in `part pointed out hereinafter. i

The invention accordingly consists in the features of construction, combination of elements and arrangements of parts which will be exemplified in the construction hereinafter set forth, and the scope of the application of which will be indicated in the fol lowing claims.

In the accompanying drawings, wherein is shown one of various possible embodiments ofmy invention- Figure 1 is a fragmentary side elevation of a ship With the improved armor arranged thereon;V

Fig. 2 is a fragmentary transverse section through the ship and armor; f

Fig. 3 is a detail in elevation of one of the various plates from which the armor is composed; and 0 F10. 4 1s a similar view showmg one of the palate connecting elementsA Similar characters of reference refer to similar parts throughout the several `views of the drawings.

Referring now more particularly to the drawings, it will be noted that I have shown byiway of illustration a fragment of a ship hullr designated by thenumeral 1^,which'hull has secured to its opposite side a series of upper and lower bearing brackets-2 and 3.

Supporting arms comprisingvsections of piping so connectedI andi arranged as to provide efliciently braced constructions aref pivotally supportedl by the bracketsv 2 and 3, pivot pins -it'and 5 passing through the brackets' and' the engaged portion of the supporting arms which are generally indicated by the numeral 6. Collars 7 are carried upon the lower extremities'of the various arms 6 and receive therethrough parallel longitudinally extending pipes or rodsS, which pipes, obviously, serve as means for rigidly connecting the lower` ends of the supporting arms and preventing relative movement` of the same while the ship is under way.y `Other bracing means in form of truss rods 9I are arranged between the supporting arms 6 and have their opposite ends engaged with eyes 10 and 11 formed upon the lower ends of the said bracing arms and the bearing brackets 2, respectively. The adjacent end of the truss rods, which as will' benoted,-are

made in sections, are screw threaded and;

engaged by ordinary turnbuckles 112 in` order that the truss rods may be properly adjusted to maintain the supporting arms 6 inthe desired position with relation to the sidesI of the ship.

\ Pontoons 13 conforming to the contour ofthe ship hull are provided and are securedE to the bases of the various supporting arms Reinforcmg casings@ by Velongated strips' 14. 15 are arranged about the pontoons 13 and have their adjacent ends flanged as at 16 to provide a longitudinallyv extending rib,

while alsecond rib 17 is-formed in proximity of the flanges v16 by crimping a portion of receivingV rivets therethrough;`

` l a pair of thesectiona'll armor lplates areprocomplemei'itally disposed ed in` connecting' elements or strips 22 for The' plates 19 and strips 22 may be and preferably are formed of highgrade ysteel or `othermetal which will successfully withstand the force of torpedo explosions.` A plurality of rings V23 are passed through suitable openings K Y formed in tlieupper portions of the plates 19 'and the strips 22'into engagement with other openings formed in the flanged'por tions 16 and thel rib 17, it beingnoted that vided and are arranged in oppositely dis# posed lrelation upon the pontoons 13.y Thus, the ship is provided with primary and secondaryarmor adapted to intercept the tor.

r pedoandto cause its explosion at. apoint distant fromthesides of the ship. By prematurely exploding ythe torpedo, theV water in the intervening space between the primary and secondary armor .plates will fully L absorb vthe `force of the resultant explosion and-will` cause the same to be spent in the line of least resistance, which would be upy wardly,sinoe, it is not presumedthat the' primaryVK and secondary armor plates will sta-nd: theJ yforce of an explosion but that Y so - pedo or projectile,

the same will,A however, have suiicient weight to lcause thedischarge of the torpedo at afsafe distancefrom the` sidesaof` the ship.'g. Furthermore, if' vthe primary armor plate :is penetrated or demolished, it

will be understood that ythe secondary-'plate will 'serve .as an eihcientfbuffer for the. tor# been-greatly decreased by itsengagement with the primary armor. plate.

When va ship carrying my improvedA armor moves into a port, the armor may be readily. detached fromithe 'sides thereof by remov Y, ing the pivot pins 4 and 5 from the bracketsy 2 .andl 3, whereuponnthe pontoons- 13 will serve.v tolfloat the armor. Upon leaving the port, the lship is guided betweeny the pon-' toons andthe pivot pins 4L and 5 again connected with the brackets L2 yand 3. It is to bealso; understood, yin this connection, that provedarmor, a ship .may safely navigate openings 21 formthe; velocity offwhich vhas apart relation,

bod-les of Water without danger .0f beingV n discharge of torpedoes therej onto.y Further,` due to themanner in which wrecked by the the primary and secondary-armor plates n are suspended` from'thepontoons 13 steer-v ing of the ship will be permitted and roll'- 'ingof the same with the waves also' allowed,- thereby preventing the shipping of quanti-y ties of water. Since the head on resistance of the armor whenthe ship yis underway is but slight, inasmuch as thepontoons serve to support the'same, thelspeedofthe ship will notbe materially decreased but will of the ksaid pontoons... upon `either side thereof. Y y v Y Manifestly, the construction shown fis capable Y of considerable my claims, Iconsider within the spiritof `I claim; 5 f 1. A ship armor including aplurality of trussed .supporting arms modification andsuch modification; `as is within the 'scope' of be stabilized'byl reason of Vthe arrangement ysok detachably secured 1 to the sides of the ship, pontoons secured to the lower portiofnsof said arms,shields arranged upon the outer sides ofwsaid pontoons, and o'pposit'ely .disposed armor .plates pivotally engaged with the pontooiis and eX tendingbelow the bottomof the ship. f, 2. A ship armor includingap'lurality of.V

braced supporting'4v arms detachably. secured to thesides of the vship-,frigidmeans en- 3902v gagedrwith the lower-extremities ofwsaidf` arms for bracing the same; in spaced apart relation, truss rods engaged withythe arms,`

, pontoonsv. carried upon thelower portions of,V

said .arms and. conforming. to l the contour ofthe ship hull,and a plurality o-f spaced armoruplates loosely suspended from 'fthev ,y pontoons and extending below the bottom ofthe ship. l

3. AL ship armorincluding a plurality of substantially triangular supporting arms L detachably secured to the sides of .theship,

rigid means engaged'with "thebottoms of the. same in spaced 1 the arms for bracing adiustablev truss means engaged withy .said arms, poiitoons carried byl Y I the' arms, shields arrangedl upon the outersides of said pontoons, andr a" plurality .of

spaced armor plates yloosely suspended. from v f 11o` the pontoons.

In testimony whereof, affix `my signa-` ture hereto.

iviELviNJosEPi-i FELLANDQ .Copies Vof thispatentmay be lobtained for ive cents each, by addressing th.ei.ommissionervof Patents,l K y,

Washington, D. C. 

